My first ever bike build!!

Hi Wolfie,
try this:-
youblackenamelbeveledgedclinkerbuiltbrassboundcatercorneredrejectfromanasiaticscrapheapstartwhydon'tyou
It won't help the bike to start but you'll feel better.
And if you try a towed start, there's a trick to it.
Don't tie the tow rope to the bike.
Take a loop around the bars and hold the tail end between your hand and the bar grip so you can let go when you need to.
 
...try this:-
youblackenamelbeveledgedclinkerbuiltbrassboundcatercorneredrejectfromanasiaticscrapheapstartwhydon'tyou
It won't help the bike to start but you'll feel better...

I dunno, Fred.
Some of us need supplemental oxygen for that!
Shortness-of-breath.jpg
 
So after a few more weekends of kicking the bike over to death with nothing more than a puf here and there, I ended up ringing Ants(he sold me the PMA). He guided me through the setup of the Boyer with his PMA, turns out I got it a bit wrong!!

Yesterday my dad in law came to visit, he has had his share in bikes in his lifetime. Took the bike out the shed, and put her on the sidestand.

"OK, let's hear what she does when you kick her over" he said. So I did.

Turned the key, flicked the kill switch, opened the fuel valve, and kicked her over........nothing.

Tried again...............nothing

One more time, I said to myself..........

VAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She's alive!!!!!!!

Almost spot on!! Idle was a bit high, turned that down, checked the timing, that was a tad out, twisted the points board thingy a bit, and suddenly the idle speed dropped! Sounds great, I thought!! Got up, stood back to have a look, and she splutters a bit, I reach for the throttle but I was too late. Tried kicking her over, nothing!!!!! WTF!!!!!!:eek:

Here we go, AGAIN. :mad::banghead::mad::banghead::wtf::wtf::wtf::mad:

Hang on, the fecking fuel tap is OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:doh:

I twist it to on, let the carbs fill up, and kick............... VAROOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D:D

Boy was I smiling!!!

I look over to my dad in law, he does NOT look impressed! What could it be? Too loud? Sounds wrong? What??

He put his hands on his hips, looks at me and says " I am VERY disappointed!"

"Why??" I ask:confused:

"Because I spent all bloody night last night, writing down a diagnostic sequence to go through all the possibilities to get your bike running, and we get her out and she runs on the third kick!!! I am not impressed!!" He said with a huge grin on his face!!!:laugh:

So I thought, fuck it, I'm going round the block!!!!!:bike:

So I did!!!!!:D:D


TWICE!!!

She rides better than I could ever dream of! Surprisingly comfortable and easy to throw about!! I didn't go too fast, but it was GREAT!! I did notice she bogs a bit on the higher revs, possibly above 5000RPM. Other than that, I think she is ready to go get tested! I just have to sort the carbs out a bit, going to balance them soon.

Happy days!!!:D:D:D:D
 
Sweet man, I'm happy to hear you got her started. ;) weather today were nice so perfect timing ;) congrats bro
 
Yeahhh! It was really good to see you on that bike you built with your own hands. I'm working on one of my own, and I can't wait to take the first ride! Congrats man!
 
Sweet man, I'm happy to hear you got her started. ;) weather today were nice so perfect timing ;) congrats bro

Thanks vsop! Only good day was yesterday, shitty English weather today and tomorrow, and then I'm back to work! And I can only get my bike for it's roadworthyness test on the weekend after the next!! Bummer!!! I'm ITCHING to ride!!!!

Yeahhh! It was really good to see you on that bike you built with your own hands. I'm working on one of my own, and I can't wait to take the first ride! Congrats man!

BEST feeling EVER!! I had the biggest grin on my face for ages after the ride! Have you got a build thread Twindallas?
 
Well, Congratulations Airwolfie! That HAD to be a satisfying day.

And thanx to your father-in-law.
These old machines can be intimidated to stop kiddin' around when simply in the presense of the old masters...
 
Well, Congratulations Airwolfie! That HAD to be a satisfying day.

And thanx to your father-in-law.
These old machines can be intimidated to stop kiddin' around when simply in the presense of the old masters...

Thanks Twomany! It was a very satisfied day!!

Funny you should say that, just before the THIRD Kick, he held on to the handle bars to "stabilise" the bike while I was kicking it over, and VROOOM she went!!!:laugh:
 
Airwolfie, the bike I'm working on is one that was built by someone else, so I don't have a thread. I'm really just finishing it up and getting it road worthy. Nothing too special, but my first hard tail, and my first crack anything electrical. It's great to have this forum and all its knowledge to help me along! Here's the PO's Craigslist ad...

4976978444.html
 
well done Airwolfie :thumbsup:

So you beat me in the end ....I knew you would. good on ya buddy I hope you enjoy her after all that hard work .

Just the MOT to go then :D
 
Twindallas, I can't see the picture! And yes, this forum is invaluable with the wealth of info and knowledge, without these guys, I would have given up ages ago!!

well done Airwolfie :thumbsup:

So you beat me in the end ....I knew you would. good on ya buddy I hope you enjoy her after all that hard work .

Just the MOT to go then :D

Hey thanks Peanut! You still have two weeks to beat me mate,get to it!! My MOT is on the 16th!! Crack on mate!!:thumbsup:
 
nah.......... you deserve your victory AW I've been a lazy wotsit and you've managed to carry on with yours and finish it off despite the recent little challenges ...:wink2: how is the little one by the way ?:D

I'm really looking forward to seeing a video of you riding her to the MOT station .Your maiden voyage was brilliant ...looked a bit tentative though hah hah!
Hope you've got a helmet cam .:wink2:
 
nah.......... you deserve your victory AW I've been a lazy wotsit and you've managed to carry on with yours and finish it off despite the recent little challenges ...:wink2: how is the little one by the way ?:D

I'm really looking forward to seeing a video of you riding her to the MOT station .Your maiden voyage was brilliant ...looked a bit tentative though hah hah!
Hope you've got a helmet cam .:wink2:

The little one is great! Getting really big now!

I doubt I will be riding her to the MOT! I don't trust her that much yet!

The maiden was tentative because I got to get to know her first!!

Got a handlebar mount for my camera, I will be recording my first proper outing!


Well done Mate!
never quit attitude wins after all.
Is the the Mrs Airwolfie with a large smile on her face?
Enjoy Brother and ride safe :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Thanks Carbon! That is Mrs Airwolfie with a big smile on her face!
 
Well I took the bike out for a ride to the MOT station, all I can say is...................................




- Mount headlight properly DONE!!!
- Find replacement line for clutch DONE!!!
- finish off foot pegs DONE!!
- mount indicators DONE!!
- mount coils DONE!!!
- mount tacho and speedo DONE!!
- mount Boyer ignition DONE!!!
- add fake oil tank for housing electrics DONE!!
- add key starter DONE!!!
- add hi/lo light switch DONE!!!
- add kill switch DONE!!!
- add neutral light DONE!!!
- add spark leadsDONE!!!
-Install Boyer power boxDONE!!!
-Install one way valve on breather DONE!!!
-Bleed clutchDONE!!!
- plug excess petcock holesDONE!!!
- add petcockDONE!!!
- install fuel lineDONE!!!
- add filter podsDONE!!!
-clean and line gas tankDONE!!!
- fabricate rear fenderDONE!!!
- mount rear fenderDONE!!!
- mount rear lightDONE!!!
- add hornDONE!!!
- replace tyresDONE!!!
- fab steering stopDONE!!!
- make spacers for calipers/rotorsDONE!!!
- paint gas tankDONE!!!
- add chainDONE!!!
- Find replacement brake line for front brakeDONE!!!
- recon front caliperDONE!!!
-Bleed brakesDONE!!!
- sort out exhaustsDONE!!!
- mount rear brake switchDONE!!!
- wire entire bikeDONE!!!!!
- add oilDONE!!!
- mount front fenderlDONE!!!
- add fuelDONE!!!
- run engineDONE!!!
- paint fendersDONE!!!
- mount number plateDONE!!!
- tune engineDONE!!!
- get MOT!!DONE!!!


She Passed!! So pleased! Although the indicators should be bigger, and I had the rear light die on me!!!:doh::doh: I looked at it today, and it seemed there is a loose connection at the light fitting.:banghead: Also the rear mudguard was bottoming out on the seat, so I set the rear shocks to their stiffest setting. I also mucked about with the compression and rebound screws on the front forks. It never rains......................

Aside from that, I took her home the long way, and once I got home, I realised I had done almost 50 miles!!!!:yikes: SO FAR nothing has fallen off!! Seems to splutter at higher revs, possibly needs rejetting on the top end I think.

Today I synced the carbs, and checked the plugs. They seem OK, but I'm not too sure. The centre bit is light brown, the outside has a flat black residue on it, and the electrode is slightly off colour. All thoughts, comments and suggestions on then plugs are greatly appreciated!!

Here is a pic of the left and right plug in that order.

17835847901_b97e3c3a4c_b.jpg


17835381485_e1df07e60a_b.jpg



Took her out just to make sure all is still ok! I also forgot to adjust the clutch, works, but feels like I could turn the adjuster in a tad.

Anyhoo, here's the vid of my trip to the MOT station! Start at 2:35, and stopat 21:10 or so. Took ages to go lol! And when I got there, I forgot to turn off the camera!! It a bit wobbly as well, I may have to mount it on me.

Enjoy!!:D:D
 
I think I got the sign of approval off my little one!!

17647547188_f5f0f2b970_b.jpg


17835358575_a220b9dae8_b.jpg


17835359505_9196a892bc_b.jpg


From the minute she sat on the bike, she could not stop "ooooooooooooooooooh" ing!!

Was very funny!
 
ahhhhh She'll treasure those pics when Shes older .:D

Great video ...love your skinny roads ...just like mine down here in Somerset. it was a great ride in lovely countryside .

What was the whirring noise I could hear sometimes when you gave it the beans ? sounded like something rubbing or vibrating ? was it the camera .

Your plugs look really good maybe just a tad on the lean side for running in a new engine though. Might be a good idea to run it a little richer for the first few hundred miles .The left plug looks a leaner mix than the right.

One test you can do, to guage if you are running lean or rich is to apply a little choke as you are going along at various throttle openings ie 1/4, 1/2 , 3/4 & WOT . If the engine revs increase then its running lean at that particular throttle opening . If the engine bogs slightly when you apply a little choke then the mix is probably about right. If it bogs and dies then its way too rich

If applying a little choke improves the wide open throttle spluttering you might need to adjust the needle heights up or increase the main jet sizes .

I read somewhere that some pod filters can partially cover the brass air intake holes in the venturi openings ?
 
Great bike, and great pics! Congrats on getting her on the road. It's fun to put the kids on the back too. When my boys saw my new hard tail with a solo seat, the first question was, "It only has one seat"? Gotta love those kids! I'll post a few pics of mine when I get her on the road...
 
Boy a guy can sure tell You are baby Hannahs father!
She sure is a cutie all right :thumbsup:
Ya both look like your having so much fun, RightOn!
there was many bikes at mot how long did it take to get out of there?
What does mot stand for?
 
ahhhhh She'll treasure those pics when Shes older .:D

Great video ...love your skinny roads ...just like mine down here in Somerset. it was a great ride in lovely countryside .

What was the whirring noise I could hear sometimes when you gave it the beans ? sounded like something rubbing or vibrating ? was it the camera .

Your plugs look really good maybe just a tad on the lean side for running in a new engine though. Might be a good idea to run it a little richer for the first few hundred miles .The left plug looks a leaner mix than the right.

One test you can do, to guage if you are running lean or rich is to apply a little choke as you are going along at various throttle openings ie 1/4, 1/2 , 3/4 & WOT . If the engine revs increase then its running lean at that particular throttle opening . If the engine bogs slightly when you apply a little choke then the mix is probably about right. If it bogs and dies then its way too rich

If applying a little choke improves the wide open throttle spluttering you might need to adjust the needle heights up or increase the main jet sizes .

I read somewhere that some pod filters can partially cover the brass air intake holes in the venturi openings ?

Thanks Peanut! I did think they looked a bit on the lean side, although they have some good carbon deposits, I'll turn the needles up a tad. It actually starts up without the choke funnily enough! And when I pull it out, the engine wants to die! This is on startup, I haven't tried at different throttles and running temps yet. Will have a go tomorrow if I get the bike done tonight for tomorrow!

No holes closed up by the filters, so it's just a matter of tweaking here and there!

Great bike, and great pics! Congrats on getting her on the road. It's fun to put the kids on the back too. When my boys saw my new hard tail with a solo seat, the first question was, "It only has one seat"? Gotta love those kids! I'll post a few pics of mine when I get her on the road...

Thanks Twindallas! Be nice to see your bike!:thumbsup:

Boy a guy can sure tell You are baby Hannahs father!
She sure is a cutie all right :thumbsup:
Ya both look like your having so much fun, RightOn!
there was many bikes at mot how long did it take to get out of there?
What does mot stand for?

Yeah she is deffo mine!!:D A real cutie to boot! I am going to have to invest in a shotgun and some private land with a couple of shovels when she gets older! I can see a lot of hearts(and necks!!) broken in the future!

There weren't any bikes before me, most Brits get their MOT sorted early in the year to get the most of any sunshine available!:D Took about an hour to go through it all, and sort out the shocks for me.

MOT= Ministry of Transport test:thumbsup:
 
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